In the manufacture of electrical components, such as the film-type resistors shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,944, the soldering of the leads to the chips is tedious and expensive. For example, as described in the cited patent, a separate screen-printing step may be required in order to apply a solder composition to the chip, following which lead ends are clamped onto the chip at the solder composition and the assembly is heated to effect melting of the solder.
It is desired that a method be provided by which the leads may be properly and strongly and rapidly applied with just the right amount of solder for each connection, and which does not require a screen-printing operation.
It is also common in the prior art to wash resistors, etc., in solvents in order to remove excess flux therefrom; it is desired to provide a method by which no such washing is necessary.
It is also desired to provide a method by which soldering of leads onto resistors and other components may be achieved relatively rapidly, and at least semiautomatically, yet effectively and strongly with the desired amount of solder for each connection.
It is desired to provide a semiautomatic or automatic method that will create solder bonds, between leads and chips, that are often stronger than those conventionally achieved by prior-art soldering methods for connecting leads to chips.
It is further desired to provide a method that is highly controllable and manageable, in comparison to prior-art methods, that does not require screen-printing, or solder paste, and in which the solder flows towards the desired bond region in response to a particular step in the method.